248 DIVISION I. VERTEBRAL AXI.AIALS. — CLASS I. MAMJLVLIA. 



AV(_' pfocced, tlierefure, to nivc a rapul .sketch ol' the diik'i-ent nieiiibers of'tlic 

 family as we liavc seen them, iu;ikiag use also of the ahunihuit materials 

 siij)|)Iied by those observers who have spent half a Ijletiiue or more in their 

 pursuit. 



tienus Bal.exa. Tlie Typical "Wliales. This genus is represented by 

 two species, comnKJiily called 6inoolh-h(«:k--<, on accoiuit of the absence of the 

 dorsal lin. 



B. JL/sl/'rrfit.^. — The Greenland Whale. ]\Ianv of the specifn' charac- 

 ters of this sjieeies we have already noticed in our general remarks upon 

 the whale, and will here only add that this interesting inlial)itant of tiic 

 deej) attains a size varying from fifty to seventy feet in Icngib, and Irom 

 thirty to forty in cirenml'ercnce at its thickest part, which is a little behind 

 the fins. The throat is straight, and not more than an inch and a half in 

 width. Its color is \ cl\et-l)lack, gra\-, and white, with a yellowish tinge. 

 The white and gi-ay increase with the a^ic <if the aiumal. The groat (pian- 

 tity of oil which lills the cells of the bhil)ber-skin, and also the extremely 

 porous Ijones reiuh-r the bodv sjiccillrallv linhtcr than the water, and con- 

 sequeutlv it lies on the suri'ace of the sea without any ellbrt or motion ; but 

 for the same reason, some exertion is requisite when it desires to descend ; 

 yet it di\es with remarkable \elpcify, sometimes to the (le[)th ol' a mile. 

 A\ hen it is <listnrbed or frightened, it elevates its enormous head as if to 

 make an inspection of the cause of its alarm, then plunges it under water, at 

 the same time raising up its baclc like tin; segment of a sphere, and, gradually 

 rotmding it away towards the extremities, shakes its mighty tail in the air 

 for a moment, as il'in deliiuice of its piu'sners, and thus vanishes lieneath the 

 wave. In the ojieratiou of blowiu^• they nntke a loud nc.iise, wdiicll may be 

 heard at a considerable distance. The vapor they discharge is thrown to the 

 height of se\eral yards, and in its circling descent resembles a wreath of 

 smoke. 



This whalo is never found fir from certain extensive spaces of peculiar 

 creen water, which form, according to Scorsebv, one fnu'th part of the 

 Greeidand sea, between the parallels of 74'^ and ,S()^\ erpial to abotit twenty 

 thousand srpiare miles. This dark-green color is produced by an infinite 

 number of animtdeules, most of them of the mmhixa f unily, which minute 

 creatures constitute nearly the sole food of this huge monster, and lill its 

 immense carcass with tons of oil. 



The period of gestation is about ten months. The young one at the time 

 of its birth is ten or twche feet long, and is nursed by the mother on the 

 surface of the water, the dam titrning over on the side f )r this purpose. 

 This maternal support and protection continue until the month of the cub is 

 furnished with that peculiar furniture for procuring its food wdiicli we have 



